The letter. Part 1. June 2009

Dear brothers and sisters!
Respected world council members!

We would like to share the following information on the development of Sahaja Yoga in Russia for the last 4 years.
In 2005 in Russia the leadership in Russia was changed. All sahaja yogis were told that with the blessings of Shri Mataji there is no more leadership and coordinators will be elected for 1 year. However after some time we understood that the “new government” is nothing new, there is no election is meant to happen nor in 1 year, neither in 3 years.(read more)


Very soon the organization with a strict “chain of command” started to form with strict rules for submission. The “proper” understanding of what is right in Sahaja Yoga and Mother’s lectures was enforced. First ex-leaders were thrown out and then their relatives and friends. All they were declared as “enemies of Sahaja Yoga”. Communication with these people was forbidden. Those who continued relations with outcasts were asked to leave the collectivity. All who were not agree with the new “management” were counted as some mythical opposition.
Today we have a system when all the decisions are taken by the coordinator of Russia. Coordinators of other cities and local councils only implement his “recommendations”. For the last few years the majority of clear-headed sahaja yogis left councils or was thrown out from councils.
For the accrescence of coordinator’s power the new reform was performed recently. The number of sahaja yogis in local councils was reduced and only those were left who support the Russian Coordinator in all his deeds. It was make in order to avoid leakage of information about further actions meant to form strict organization totally under control of the coordinator. For some time past the voices of critics rose in the address of the coordinator and the Russian council.
Due to their activity for the last 4 years the negative public opinion about Sahaja Yoga appeared in the society. Many people now think we are a totalitarian sect. The amount of those who want to receive a realization and to practice Sahaja Yoga is reducing, many collectivities are getting smaller each year. Even in Togliatti, from where the whole collectivity of Russia is ruled, some sahaja yogis do not agree with what’s happening and they are leaving the collectivity.

They are meditating apart of the main collectivity of necessity. Many of them practice Sahaja Yoga since the time it started in Russia. They cannot have a compromise with what’s going on in our collectivity and at the same time they do not want to become an “opposition”. In spite of the fact that they practice Sahaja Yoga they cannot attend pujas or seminars. In Russia we have a strict “permission” system for going to pujas and seminars. The yogi himself cannot take a spontaneous decision to go to puja. Yogies need to get a special permission in advance. The list of those who are allowed to go to puja are published in Internet.
Although the majority of yogis can get a permission this control and the lack of freedom of not comply with Sahaja Yoga. The examples of those who were not allowed to go cause a fear that anyone can be treated like that.
Our coordinator is explaining himself that only 10% of yogis disagree with him and 90% agree. In fact this is not so. Currently many people see what’s going on but accept this situation. They think it is wrong to fight.
Also we would like to raise a question of financial activity in Sahaja Yoga in Russia. The money collected all over Russia is going only to Togliatti projects. Rarely the Russian council diverts a small sum for concerts in other regions. In other cities it is not allowed to make sahaj seminars and festivals. Before for the last 15 years we were having seminars all over Russia. It is very reasonable considering the size of our country.
The movement of money is impossible to track. For example there was a seminar in Togliatti in 2008. The money for the seminar was being collected for at least half a year. The accounting was not always made properly and some part of this money was spent without any accounting at all. The situation repeats itself with new seminar.
The coordinator of Russia is telling us some stories that one day the land in Togliatti will be bought for Sahaja Yoga and that’s why they need money. That’s why they need a lot of money! But time passes and nothing happens… Again we want to ask – who will be the owner of this land> Sahaja Yogis were building the camp there and a small house for Shri Mataji but to whom this house belongs according to the law? The seminar (or festival how we call it in Russia) takes place for 3 days only once a year and the rest of time we are paying for the camp?
There is another question to discuss. The coordinator of Russia creates the hierarchy in Sahaja Yoga collectivity. On the top there is a Coordinator of Russia – the spiritual leader of Russian sahaja yogis. The Russian council is under his control. The council is divided into 2 pieces: the spiritual and administrative. The Russian council is controlling the coordinators of other cities and they are controlling local councils, also divided into 2 parts. The decisions of the Coordinator of Russia cannot be placed in doubt because he is appointed by Shri Mataji Herself and that’s why he himself is also Divine. These people are not confused even with the fact that Shri Mataji was telling in Her lectures that all yogis are equal and the leadership is not a big position in Sahaja Yoga. And a caste system of India was criticized by Mother many times, telling that this system enslaved the Indian society and slows down its development. In fact the same caste and religion system is now being created in Russia
Any critics in Russia are suppressed by the coordinator. In these latter days sahaja yogis were talking a lot in Internet and in Social networks creating groups there and telling their own opinions on what’s going on. In particular one sahaja yogi created a forum “SY Friends” in the Russian network “vkontakte.ru”. He invited other yogis there. When the number of sahaja yogis there reached 200 and the critics started to appear there the coordinator’s supporters entered the group, took the control over it and deleted all the messages with critics. The creator of the group was called to council and he was told that he has a lot of problems and he must go and clean his chakras (they didn’t name the real problem – this forum). They tried to accuse him officially but they were a bit afraid – the creator of the forum is known as a person who can not be accused of anything dirty. But they tried to intimidate him by not allowing him to take part in any sahaj activities for 1 year.
The later “I love Sahaja Yoga” forum was formed. The critics appeared also there. Coordinator’s supporters wrote in this group that the founders of this group are not sahaja yogis and they informed others that they should leave the forum forever within a few days. They were told that if they do not leave the forum the actions will be taken against them. The coordinator is afraid to throw everybody who is left in the group because many people are unsatisfied with what he is doing.
There are a lot of other small confrontations. Let us tell you one more example.
During the last Indian puja 2 Russians were invited to Anand’s (Shri Mataji’s grandson) marriage. The coordinator of Russia was unhappy that someone else apart from him can come close to Shri Mataji or Her family. When these 2 yoginis being on the marriage on the other side of the hall didn’t come close to the coordinator to greet him and to show him respect he resented. Now he suspects in connections with the opposition all those who are not greeting him. He is telling that the negativity is working through such people.
The leaders who were there before 2005 are considered to be “traitors” (and rakshasas), who destroyed the organization. He sees himself as a spiritual leader of all Russian sahaja yogis. When he was 1st introduced to Shri Mataji dr. Boghdan said that this is the leader of Russia. And Shri Mataji corrected him: “No more leaders, only councils”. But not the role of councils in Russia is zero – they just fulfill Coordinator’s orders.
In one of Her lectures in Australia Shri Mataji told that Sahaja Yoga is a living spontaneous process and we cannot make an organization out of it. Or else the wrong people can come and destroy everything. Now we see that this happened in Russia.
All the abovementioned facts and many other facts of breaking the dharma laws by the coordinator of Russia led to split-up in the Russian collectivity. The part of the collectivity formed an opposition to the Russian council. The other part makes realization programs and festivals. The 3rd and the biggest part of sahaja yogis is taking part in some activities but have a disagreement with the politics of our coordinator. There are also people who support these actions and they are trying to get a position in this new hierarchy. This leads to tension in the Russian sahaj collectivity.
In connection with all this facts we are asking the World council to replace the current coordinator of Russia.
With respect, Russian Sahaja Yogis.
Jay Shri Mataji.